The Reimer’s Ranch Climbing Committee has been working with the county and we wanted to provide you with some updates;

Road Closures are scheduled twice in October.

Reimer's Ranch Park will be closed for road construction from Tuesday, October 10, 2006 through Friday, October 13, 2006. The park will be open for the weekend Saturday, October 14, and Sunday, October 15, and then will be closed again from Monday, October 16 through Wednesday, October 18, 2006.

While the Pogue section is still closed, Travis County has provided walking tours leaving from the ranger station at Reimer’s. If you are interested inquire with the county staff at the ranger station on your way in. Our observance of the “Off Limits” nature of this area has gone a long way with establishing a credible relationship with the county staff. Please help us maintain access to all our climbing areas by respecting this closure.

September 10th; we met with Travis county Parks staff and walked from Reimer’s to Pogue for such a tour. We parked near the end of the Reimer’s road, near the “fishing access” area and as we walked in we observed a low cliff line up in the trees that may be suitable for bouldering. More on that later. We walked for 20-25 minutes to cross a dry creek bed and approach the best area for climbing at Pogue. We walked 2000 feet of cliff line along the Pedernales that faces more North and as such was shady all afternoon. It has a lot of potential, especially for easier climbs. That is not to say that there isn’t some hard overhanging stuff, too. For about an hour we walked along the cliff line and gazed on the rocks and imagined the routes that could be there. We then walked over to the Pogue springs, about ¾ miles from the cliffs. A beautiful area that will probably have limited access due to its sensitive ecology. We made a large loop and walked out through the existing bike paths back to the parking area around the Porto potties.

On September 30th we met with the county’s master planning staff, Brent and Dan. They discussed their goals to provide the county with plans that designate roads, paths, restrooms and facilities and to designate particular areas for climbing, fishing, hiking and biking. They told us that they would be scheduling additional meetings with us and other user groups and to expect Public Meetings being scheduled as early as November. They really want to manage the property to get the best use from the area, yet retain its nature and quality for generations. Watch for the public meeting announcements.

We viewed maps similar to the one in this link;

http://www.co.travis.tx.us/tnr/parks/pdf_files/reimers_ranch_park.pdf

The area called “Milton Reimer’s Ranch” is where we climb today. The area marked “Pogue Springs Preserve” is where the 2000 feet of cliff along the river is situated. The county planner guys explained that the line dividing those two is arbitrary, at this time and could be moved. Obviously we want it moved so that we get access to the cliff line along the river to be able to climb at Pogue. They see three areas to consider; • The current Reimer’s existing bolted areas, • Reimer’s bouldering>>> that low band of cliffs we saw on our walk in on the 10th and • The Pogue climbing along the river. They asked us to prioritize in case ecological concerns require choices to be made. We prioritized ; Reimer’s existing bolted areas as #1, Pogue climbing along the river as #2, Reimer’s bouldering area as #3.

They have concerns from a non-bird expert that wild turkeys migrate across the river at that area where the low band of cliffs are. This might require putting that area off-limits. We plan on asking birders (e.g. Dr. Stone) their opinion on human impact on migration and (if there is any) what seasons to stay out of that migration path.

They asked whether the committee would consider having the Pogue climbing area open seasonally if bird migration is an issue. The committee said yes (it’s better than closing portions of areas), but prefers Pogue be open in the summer. As those Pogue’s cliffs are shaded most of the day, making it extra attractive in the summer.

They are considering adding parking relatively close to Pogue without necessarily introducing auto traffic into that area, but it still may be a 20 minute walk to the cliffs.

They are considering relocating roads to the existing climbing and biking areas for better drainage and moving the existing g parking a little further away from the entrance to Sex Cave to help prevent runoff from the cars into the spring.

They are concerned with planning for future increase in the use of all the areas. However they could build phases into the park plan to accommodate that.

Watch for those announcements of the Public Hearings!

In other related news;

Scott Isgitt has moved to San Diego, he was replaced on the RRCC committee by the candidate with the next highest vote count, Emily Mathon.

We have replaced 222 pieces of hardware at Reimer’s. Improving the anchors and bolts on 55 routes, and expending close to $1.000 of the CTM hardware fund. We continue to review, inspect and replace hardware as necessary.

The Reimer’s trail project as had 75 volunteers provide 205 hours of labor, improving trails and preventing erosion in Reimer’s.

So far this year, the RRCC committee has approved new route applications that have resulted in the installation of these new routes;